Knowledge

When ICSA Labs first started testing and certifying Anti-Virus products more than 20 years ago, there were only “hundreds” of malware samples circulating monthly in the world. Since then, the malware landscape has changed dramatically and today there are over 100,000 new samples appearing every day.

The way malware infections are introduced has also changed over the years. Before the Internet and network connectivity, the primary way malcode spread was via infected floppy discs (remember those?). As computers became networked, malware was able to spread faster and as e-mail grew, worms and viruses became the next vector causing widespread infections.

The days of massive outbreaks via e-mail is being replaced with stealth infections and targeted attacks. Instead of mass e-mail outbreaks, users get infected by drive-by-downloads while visiting compromised websites.

To address these evolutionary threats, ICSA Labs is introducing a new certification option, the Malicious URL Testing module.

Anti-Malware products are tested in the same way users are infected, by visiting compromised websites serving malicious code and exploits. Products meeting ICSA Labs Malicious URL certification provide additional layers of protection for end users against malicious code.